Houston
I only agreed to participate in the rodeo because Beckett asked me to; for some odd reason, it could be fun. However, I never expected to invite Cassidy. It just happened.
She was sitting on the porch watching Beckett and me, and I wanted to include her in something. Everything after was when the words tumbled out, inexplicably inviting her to every other rodeo I had signed up for the summer. I didn't expect that to happen. She was only a friend to me, that was all.
Besides, tomorrow I had that date with Kate.
Cassidy leaned over my shoulder as I drove to the fairgrounds, her floral perfume being the only thing I could smell. She whispered in my ear, "Can you turn the A/C down, and roll up your window, please? I'm cold."
I almost turned to look at her before remembering I was the one driving, and I had to pay attention to the road. I nodded in reply, then remembered that Beckett had asked the same thing twenty minutes ago.
But I only remembered when Cassidy asked for it, much more politely though. I rolled up my window and turned the heat up instead, immediately feeling the stifling heat throughout my truck. There were ten minutes left until we would be at the rodeo, so I would have to suffer through the insufferable heat for Cassidy's sake.
This was the only time I would let her ask me to do anything, though.
The next question she asked, leaning back in the backseat, almost startled me, "So how's your brother?"
"Y-You want to know about my brother?" I questioned, glancing in the rearview mirror and making eye contact with those green eyes. "Wh-Which brother? Wait, who told you about my siblings?"
She shrugged off the question, looking outside at the flat plains of Texas, "Beckett. You have more than one brother?"
Of course, Beckett would tell her more information about me.
I cleared my throat, adjusted in my seat, and replied, "I have two brothers and three sisters. They're all older than me."
"And how are they?"
Her curiosity about me was getting annoying; why should Cassidy of all people know anything about me?
I still answered her question even if I did not want to, "Well, I still eat at the kids' table with all my nieces and nephews, so that sums up everything you should know."
As I pulled into the rodeo and found a parking spot to fit in, Cassidy stayed silent even as I got out and took the horses out of the trailer. Beckett left the moment I put the truck in park, mostly to pay all the fees while Avery grabbed her horse from the trailer to start practicing.
Which meant Cassidy and I was left alone with each other.
I tied the leads to the side of the trailer and started putting the saddle on Rebel, as Cassidy did the same to Beckett's horse. I had a feeling Cassidy would inevitably say something, but she never did.
I was thankful she hadn't said anything when both of us were alone. I was also worried because she hadn't said anything.
My worries were answered when the girl I was supposedly so excited to go on a date with walked up to my trailer. She pulled me unexpectedly in for a kiss and took the cowboy hat I wore from my head, all while I felt someone's eyes on me. The kiss already felt so wrong to me, not just because it was in front of Cassidy.
I shouldn't be kissing Kate right now or anywhere.
I asked stuttering, "Wh-What was that all about?"
"A good luck kiss," Kate answered, biting her lip seductively and then noticing Cassidy, who was still right by the trailer. "Houston, who is this?"
I turned to look at Cassidy, whose usual smile had been replaced by a somber grimace, which I hated. Something had gone wrong and I hated myself for it.
"Kate, this is Cassidy," I answered, stepping away from her for a moment and struggling to find the words. "She's my frie- no, she is... Beckett's sister. We aren't friends, actually. I have to deal with her."
Before I could see the look on Cassidy's face, I only directed my attention towards Kate, afraid of the damage my words may have done to the girl standing right next to me. Cassidy said her voice trying not to break, "I'm Beckett's sister. I-I only came to watch the rodeo."
Her voice slowly drifted away out of earshot, and as Kate returned to my gaze I still heard a girl's soft sobs. Throughout Kate's conversation, I was too busy looking for the brunette girl who ran away from me crying, and it was all because of what I did.
"Is everything okay, Houston?" Kate asked, my attention returning to the blonde girl in front of me. "You haven't been paying any attention, and the rodeo announcer said the rodeo is going to start."
"Actually, I have to go check in with someone," I replied honestly, making my best attempt at lying and failing. "I'll be back in a few minutes, I promise. Beckett should be coming by here soon; you can talk with him."
Kate leaned in for a kiss and I moved, narrowly avoiding her before jogging to the stands. There were too many people at this rodeo to find Cassidy and apologize, and finding the short, brunette that I grew to like was harder and harder. Everyone in the stands seemed to have some sort of resemblance, causing me to bump into too many people I thought were her.
I never did end up finding her.
Someone grabbed my shoulder suddenly, hoping that Cassidy somehow found me instead. It was her brother, followed by Kate.
He asked, "What are you doing, Houston? We have to get ready for team roping; it's almost our turn."
Words began tumbling out of my mouth, leaving me no way to stop it at all. I gestured to the stands, "But I need to find her."
Beckett's face contorted into a confused look as he asked, "Who's her?"
Her name was on the tip of my tongue, and I was prepared to tell everyone out loud how much Cassidy drove me crazy. She did drive me crazy, with her bubbliness and her stubborn personality and how she never stepped down from me at all.
But I realized who I would be telling this to, and no matter what I never wanted to jeopardize anything when it came to Cassidy and Beckett. The Mitchells' treated me like I was their own family, even when my own family seemed to be crumbling down as it continued.
I bit down on my words, and said, "Never mind, let's get ready for the team roping."
"Finally," Beckett exclaimed as he turned away from the stands, and headed back to the trailer oblivious to me.
I thought I was being nonchalant about the whole Cassidy fiasco, but someone never bought me from the beginning. Kate fell into step with me, her eyes telling me everything that she knew, and asked, "Are you sure everything is okay?"
With one glance back at the stands, I turned back to Kate and replied, "I'm fine, Kate. Cassidy means nothing to me, and all I want is to go on this date with you."
Kate agreed with my poor attempt at a lie, but her face told me otherwise. She didn't believe my lie, but I was serious. Cassidy was nothing more than a friend to me - more like a coworker, actually. Kate had nothing to worry about.
~
Hours had passed and the rodeo began dwindling down, and yet there was still no sign of Cassidy. Once I finished competing, I gave Rebel to Beckett and searched the entire fairgrounds for her, hoping she would turn up eventually. It was a mistake; I didn't mean what I said.
I started to lose hope as I walked back to the trailer, the parking lot slowly emptying of any cars, and found her waiting by Rebel. I exclaimed, "Mitchell, I've been looking all over for you. Where have you been?"
The moment Cassidy glanced at me, her eyes were rimmed red and I regretted everything that I have ever said tonight. Cursing myself for never being graceful enough with my words, and eventually hurting a girl I cared about.
I strode over to her, enveloping her in a hug, and asked, "Cass, I'm sorry for what I said. I didn't mean what I said, and if I could I would take those words back immediately."
She stepped back, a smile breaking across her face and it was the most beautiful smile I had ever seen. Cassidy said laughing, "What are you doing, Houston? This is not like you."
I let her insult me jokingly, mostly because I knew she was back and that was all that mattered.
Without anyone else's help, Cassidy and I helped load the horses in the trailer as we waited for our friends to hurry. Wherever they were, they had to hurry.
After we loaded the horses in the trailer, Cassidy and I sat in the cab still waiting for our friends, even as my truck was the only one left in the parking lot. Cassidy turned to me and whispered, worried someone would overhear us, "Houston, why did you act so weird earlier?"
I turned to look at her, brows furrowed even if I had an idea of what she was referring to, and asked, "What do you mean?"
"When you were talking to Kate," she continued, leaning over the console and suddenly I realized how close she was. "You would have referred to me as your friend, but you didn't. You wanted to say something else."
"I didn't want to say something else," I replied, clearing my throat and feeling the tension in the truck. "I wanted to say that you were my friend... but I couldn't get the word out."
She leaned even closer, her breaths becoming more uneasy and I kept glancing at her lips. Cassidy added more like a whisper, "You're sure that you really only see me as a friend?"
There was no reply left in me as I watched her eyes move from my eyes to my lips, thick dark eyelashes fluttering as a result. There was only a sliver of space between us, and I could close the distance between us and jeopardize everything I had built in this town. Jeopardize all the friendships I created, before running away.
What was I thinking? This was Cassidy I was thinking of. She was Beckett's little sister and my boss's daughter. Kissing her would only stir up drama, and eventually, blow up in my face.
Cassidy interrupted my thoughts, her voice raspy and breathy, "Just kiss me, Houston."
As if it was my cue, I leaned in and almost closed the distance, feeling the electricity I didn't feel with Kate. My heart beat against my chest rapidly as did Cassidy's, waiting for the right moment that I did want.
Our lips barely grazed each other when something inside my head told me this was a horrible idea. That someone could be watching, or eventually, someone would find out about us. I was the one who pulled away for the first time, the shame and guilt eating away at me even when Beckett and Avery walked towards my truck.
I whispered, savoring the last seconds before we would get interrupted, "Cassidy, I can't. This is a bad idea. Y-You're- I'm older than you, and your family can't know."
Cassidy's face dropped suddenly, but before I got a response Beckett and Avery opened the back doors to the truck and the tension in the truck disappeared. Beckett was the first to voice his concern, "What happened in here?"
I turned to face the windshield and immediately put my truck in drive, as I replied nervously, "N-Nothing happened here, Beckett. Why would you think something happened in here?"
"You two are being suspicious," Beckett said out loud, narrowing his eyes at Cassidy and me. "Did something happen?"
A sudden laugh let out of me, "N-No, nothing happened at all. Let's go home, so I can go to sleep."
Beckett had no more questions, but for the remaining half-hour drive home, someone's eyes still burned at the back of my already sweaty neck. Either someone knew that something happened here - Avery - or someone was disappointed something did not happen - Cassidy.
Either way, I was in for a dreadful night and I had no idea how I was going to wake up tomorrow, and meet Kate like nothing ever happened. When the worst thing I could have imagined did happen.
~
Hehe an almost kiss with lots of tension... bring it on ;)
Houston is terrible at lying as you can tell from this chapter, so it was kinda funny seeing him all disheveled. I also feel bad because Avery wasn't in this chapter as much, but she'll be in the next for sure hehe
Here's more Houston who totally denies his feelings for Cassidy :)